‘The Odyssey’: Early Weekend Projections Peg A $117 Million Opening

Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" is poised for a massive opening weekend, projected to earn $117 million domestically. This figure would surpass Nolan's "Oppenheimer" debut by nearly $35 million. The Universal Pictures release, starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and more, already earned $17.6 million in Thursday previews. Nolan, a champion of the theatrical experience, made history by shooting "The Odyssey" entirely with IMAX cameras. This strong projection aligns with industry forecasts, which trended upward from earlier estimates. Elsewhere, Disney's live-action "Moana" is projected to drop 56% to $19 million in its second weekend, with "Minions & Monsters" at $14.5 million, and "Toy Story 5" and "Evil Dead Burn" completing the top five.

Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey is poised to conquer the domestic box office in a big way in the film’s opening weekend frame.

Written and directed by Nolan, The Odyssey marks Nolan’s first film since 2023’s Oppenheimer, which made $330 million in North American ticket sales and $646.7 million internationally for a global box office gross of $976.7 million. As part of the Barbenheimer craze in 2023 — when Oppenheimer and director Greta Gerwig’s Barbie both opened on July 21, 2023 — Nolan’s historical biopic earned $82.4 million at 3,610 North American theaters in its opening weekend.

Now, nearly three years later, The Odyssey is poised to top Oppenheimer’s debut weekend tally by nearly $35 million. Deadline projected on Friday afternoon that The Odyssey will earn $50 million domestically on Friday — which lumps in the $17.6 million that the film made in Thursday preview screenings — and $117 million through Sunday.

A Universal Pictures release starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya and Charlize Theron, The Odyssey is opening in 3,919 North American theaters, which includes IMAX digital venues, IMAX 70mm venues and premium large format theaters. With The Odyssey, Nolan — a champion of the theatrical experience — became the first filmmaker in history to shoot a feature film entirely on IMAX cameras.

Should Deadline’s $117 million domestic projection hold, the amount will closely align with pre-release projections from different industry trade publications, which forecast an opening for The Odyssey as high as $120 million. The $117 million projected take far exceeds long-range tracking for the film. In late June, Deadline projected an $80 million to $100 million opening for the film.

In early July, however, the projections began to trend upward, as Box Office Pro estimated a $100 million to $120 million bow, while Box Office Theory pegged the film to open with as little as $98 million domestically or as high as $132 million. Getting more specific, Box Office Theory settled on a $118 million projected domestic opening.

After sinking at the domestic box office with its underwhelming $43 million opening weekend, Disney’s live-action version of Moana is projected by Deadline to drop 56% from its opening frame for a $19 million second weekend. Should the projection hold, it will bring the film’s 10-day total to $82 million.

Minions & Monsters is projected by Deadline to earn $14.5 million domestically this weekend to boost its running stateside total to $137.2 million for a No. 3 finish.

The trade publication also projects that Toy Story 5 will earn $13 million for the No. 4 slot and a $5 million second weekend for Evil Dead Burn to round out the top five. Should Deadline’s Toy Story 5 and Evil Dead Burn projections hold, it will boost their running tallies to $429.1 million and $24.1 million, respectively.

Note: This box office report, including numbers for “The Odyssey,” will be updated throughout the weekend as new information becomes available. The final box office numbers for this weekend will be released on Monday.